


Wherever I'm With You

by Cartoonygirl



Series: Home is [2]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I really wanted to do a summer section of this fic, and all the other campers, because I love Nikki, because i love it, i like it though and i thought the line fit, is it clear that I love Nikki?, more dadvid, so here it is!, the title comes from a song but I don't know what song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-16 09:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cartoonygirl/pseuds/Cartoonygirl
Summary: Max is eleven now, the school year is over, and David has officially adopted him. Everything seems okay.And then the camp year starts.





	1. Return to Camp Campbell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the tents are randomly set up with the exception of Max, Nikki, and Neil who were of course purposefully put together

Camp Campbell was where Max and David met, but today it was the last place on Earth Max wanted to be.

Of course, he loved his friends, and the camp itself, but he just wanted to go home, and David could tell.

"Come on, Max, aren't you excited?" David asked, trying to get Max into the spirit. Max just shrugged and turned to face the window, away from David. David sighed internally. Parenting was harder than he thought. Though he tried to get Max to open up, he sometimes had his... moods. David had realized that Max just needed some space in this time, so he gave it to him.

Once they reached the camp, David hopped out of the car excitedly to start getting ready. He and Max had arrived a day early to setting up the mess hall, activities, and tents. 

"Alright! We need to set up all five tents. There's you, Nikki, and Neil, Preston and Harrison, Erid and Nerris, Space Kid and Dolph, and Nurf," David explained. "Can you set up your tent while I work on the others?" Max nodded.

Max didn't know how to set up the tent, but he refused to ask for help. The result was the tent being inside out and half collapsed. David had to take it down and put it back up, and even Max couldn't protest after his disastrous attempt.

Next was to set up the mess hall. Max was tasked with sweeping the main area while David made sure all the food was in the kitchen. 

Once mess hall was completely swept, and the food was confirmed to be in its place, Max helped David set up the folding tables and chairs. When they finally finished, Max sat down in a folding chair.

"Are we done now?" He asked.

"Yep!" David answered brightly. "You know, Gwen should be here any second-" He heard a car pulling up. "And here she is now!" David rushed out to greet her, and Max followed him at a slower pace.

"Gwen!" David exclaimed. He hugged her.

"I missed absolutely nothing about this fucking place. Hi, guys." Max gave her a small wave, but didn't say anything. Gwen pulled her bags out of the trunk of her car and brought them into the counselor's cabin.

"Okay, you know where you're supposed to put your stuff," David said to Gwen. Then he gestured for Max to follow him out to the front of the Camp Campbell sign. "Most of the campers are arriving tomorrow morning, but Nikki's parents are dropping her off tonight!" At this, Max perked up. 

"Really?" He asked. 

"Yep! They'll be here within the next hour or two." Max sighed. 

"We have to wait out here for  _two hours_?" 

"Nope! Just somewhere around two hours."

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy." Max groaned. "Can't we just wait inside?"

"It's much nicer and a more polite gesture to be waiting outside for them." David argued.

"Whatever." Max grumbled.


	2. Nikki Arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok this is not a shipping fanfic so don't look into the relationships too deeply

After two and a half hours of card games (some with Gwen and some without), Nikki and her parents arrived at camp.

"MAX!" Nikki exclaimed, running over to Max and wrapping him in a huge hug. Max didn't return it, but he smiled a bit more that usual.

"Hi, Nik." Max monotoned, but he really was happy to see her. David spoke to Nikki's parents about the camp and safety regulations, and then they left. Nikki set up her stuff in the tent she would be sharing with Max and Neil.

Then it was realized that nobody had eaten dinner, and it was almost 8:30. David cooked eggs for dinner, and Max and Nikki chatted while eating. 

"So, you're gonna sing for everyone, right?" Nikki asked. She and Neil hadn't let the idea go since their meet up in January. 

"Maybe. I have to think about it." Max replied, not looking up from his eggs.

"Come on, please!" Nikki begged.

"After we had no acts at the music camp performance last year, it'd be nice to have at least one this year." David added, and Max glared at him.

"Max can sing? That's something I'd like to see." Gwen chuckled. Max turned his glare on her. 

"I said I'd think about it. Don't fucking push it." Max violently stabbed his eggs with his fork, making David jump.

"Max! Don't break the silverware!" David exclaimed. Max stabbed the eggs again, but lighter this time. David "hmm"ed, but said nothing and went back to eating his eggs.

"Hey!" Nikki said to David and Max. "Did you guys know that squirrels can be caught and tamed? I read about it this year-" Nikki continued, telling the confused duo all about her plans to capture a squirrel that summer. Both eventually stopped listening. "-all I have to do is sacrifice somebody to the squirrels and they'll return the favor-"

"OKAY, time for bed. Big day tomorrow! Everybody's coming!" David yelled brightly. 

The next morning was a flurry of activity and setup. Max was in a better mood (though that might have had something to do with the three cups of coffee he drank), and was slightly more willing to help David set up the camp.

And before they knew it, the other campers had arrived.


	3. Sink or Swim

By the time the other campers arrived, everybody was so bored they were eager to greet them.

The first to arrive was Nerris.

"Max! Nikki! It'th tho great to thee you guyth again!" Nerris exclaimed upon getting out of the car. Nikki hugged her excitedly, but Max just stood by and shrugged in greeting.

Space Kid arrived after Nerris. Nikki, Nerris and Max just greeted him and waved.

After that was Dolph, then Nurf, then Preston, then Harrison (who was glared at by Nerris. He glared back), and Erid.

Neil arrived last, to many hugs from Nikki. Max showed the most emotion he had all day, smiling and greeting Neil and helping him set up in their shared tent. By the time everybody was settled in, the Quartermaster had appeared from... wherever he went during the winter. Nobody knew where, not even _David._

After a classic Camp Campbell dinner made with questionable ingredients, David announced that night's activity: icebreakers.

"But we already know each other," Neil commented.

"Yeah, David, what's the fucking point?" Max added. "There are literally no new campers."

"The point is that it's a tradition!" David said cheerfully. 

"Just do it," Gwen sighed. "It'll be easier than trying to convince him." So the campers reluctantly followed David to the campfire, and all sat around it in a circle.

"Our icebreaker game is a classic that I'm sure you all know- truth or dare!" David announced, earning him glares and earning Max some wary looks, knowing that he was probably scheming as they spoke. "Okay, here's the deal- me and Gwen have some paperwork to fill out so I'm trusting you to control things. But if not, then... Max is in charge."

"Why is  _Max_ in charge? That's asking for chaos," Harrison argued. "It should be me!" 

"Harrithon, pleathe," Nerris said. "It thould be _me_!"

"I was picked, so I'm in charge! End of story!" Max yelled.

"Uh, I'm the coolest, it should be me!" Ered scoffed, ignoring Max completely.

"I'm the most energetic! I should be in charge!" Nikki exclaimed.

"I'm the smartest!" Neil shouted.

"I'm the cutest!" Dolph argued.

"Okay, then nobody's in charge!" David interrupted what was quickly becoming a heated argument. "Just... try not to cause too much trouble." He turned and headed back to the counselor's cabin.

"Alright, you heard the man, nobody's in charge," Max addressed the still fuming campers. "So. Who's going first?"

\-------

David returned to the counselor's cabin, worried about what might happen since he'd left the kids alone. He knew they were mature enough to not cause  _too_ much trouble. Well, he hoped they were mature enough.

"I'm back!" He exclaimed, entering the small, wooden building. He walked over to his desk and grabbed the beginning-of-year paperwork from his drawer, making sure not to confuse it with the end-of-year paperwork.

"David, why aren't you watching the campers?" Gwen asked, looking up from her own stack of half filled out paperwork.

"I have to do this paperwork," He explained. "It's fine, though. I left them playing truth or dare at the campfire."

"What? You left a group of fucking insane children near a fire and a lake to play a game where they have to do whatever the others say? That's a disaster waiting to-" Gwen was cut off by a loud scream from outside. "Oh god."

"Okay, you're right, and we're going to investigate!" David exclaimed. He and Gwen raced back to the campfire.

\-------

The campers voted Max as the first to be questioned in an attempt to avoid their own horrible fates. 

"Truth or dare?" Nikki asked.

"Dare," Max replied. He looked and sounded calm, but he was worried on the inside. There was no telling what his fellow campers might ask him to do. After a moment of discussion, Neil turned to Max. 

"Alright, your dare is..." Max anxiously anticipated the dare. "Row out to spooky island and bring back a 'souvenir'." Neil added air quotes around "souvenir."

"It's the middle of the night, Neil. I'm not rowing out to a fucking island in the dark."

"Here. Take this. Unless you're too scared?" Nikki challenged, handing Max her flashlight.

"I'm not scared!"

"Prove it!"

"Fine!" Max shouted, heading toward the dock. "I'll go."

\-------

It should be said that a flashlight doesn't make rowing through a lake in the middle of the night any easier. There was nowhere to hold the flashlight when you need both hands to hold the oar, so Max had to improvise and hold the flashlight with his mouth so that he could see a few feet ahead of him.

Max had gotten about halfway through the lake before he accidentally dropped the oar into the water.

"Shit," He mumbled, leaning over to fish it out before it sunk to the bottom.

Back on land the other campers stared quizzically at Max's silhouette as he leaned over the water.

"What is he doing?" Preston wondered aloud. 

"I don't know-" Neil started, but he never finished. Since the canoe was unbalanced, it had tipped over, taking Max with it. The campers screamed, some in fear and some in excitement to see how the situation would play out.

"Max can swim, right?" Dolph asked nervously.

"I think," Nikki said. All eyes were on the lake now. Finally, Max resurfaced and held onto the upside down canoe for dear life."Look, see! He's fine." 

"KIDS! What the hell is going on?" Gwen screamed, running towards the lake with David right behind her.

"Max is in the lake!" Nikki yelled excitedly.

"WHAT?" The counselors exclaimed.

"Stay here! We're going out to get him!" David said to the campers as he and Gwen retrieved the other canoe.

\-------

Once Max had been safely removed from the lake, the campers were sat down in the mess hall for a lecture.

"I don't know what you guys were thinking!" David began. "Max could have gotten seriously hurt. You're lucky we got there before anything bad could happen." He went on to explain the dangers of canoeing alone, especially at night, and that peer pressure is never okay.

"We're sorry, David." The campers monotoned.

"You  _should_ be apologizing to Max." David said sternly. 

"Where is Max, anyways?" Neil asked.

"He's in the counselor's cabin with Gwen. She's making sure everything's okay." David answered. "Now go to bed."

The campers went back to their tents, and all fell asleep exhausted from the day's adventure.

Nikki and Neil were so tired that they didn't notice Max walking back into the tent later that night, already planning his revenge.


	4. Max's Revenge

The next morning, Max had one goal and one goal only: to make that day a living hell for the campers who had almost made him drown.

"Max, we're really sorry about last night," Neil said to Max at breakfast, and Nikki nodded with him. "We didn't mean for it to go so far."

"It's fine, guys," Max lied. He _was_ fine, but he knew Neil wouldn't be when he realized that his precious computer was missing (Max had hidden it in the attic). And Nikki probably wouldn't be happy when she found the platypus sick (Max had given it some of his coffee, and it had shook for a minute before falling into a caffeine-induced sleep).

He also knew that Preston would be upset when he found his stage completely covered with mud (the messiest and most time-consuming prank Max had played). And Ered would definitely freak out when she found that her skate ramp had fallen apart (Gwen had helped him with that one by providing the screwdriver).

Max had also thrown Space Kid's cardboard rocket into Lake Lilac (the easiest prank, in Max's opinion), broken all of Nurf's knives (by using them on rocks), mixed all of Dolph's paints together (it had taken him three containers to hold all the now murky brown paint), released the animals Harrison used for his illusions (they were somewhere in the woods, hopefully never to be seen again), and hidden Nerris's Dungeons and Dragons game (it was in the attic with Neil's computer).

Now all Max had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

The first to find their problem was Ered.

"My ramp! This is, like, so not cool," She complained. "How am I supposed to practice my tricks?"

"I guess you'll just have to rebuild it. I don't understand how this could have happened," David said. That was another thing- Max had purposely left David out of the loop, knowing he'd force him to stop, instead asking Gwen for help.

The next discoveries were made at the same time.

"My stage! My beautiful stage!" Preston lamented, as Space Kid exclaimed, "My rocket's in the lake!"

"I'm going to have to mop this whole thing up," Preston sobbed. 

David had to wade into the lake to retrieve Space Kid's ruined cardboard creation. It practically fell apart in David's arms as he returned to the shore. Space Kid looked at it with tears in his eyes.

"It's all wet and soggy..." He sighed, staring at its remains.

Suddenly, a shriek was heard across the camp.

"PLATYPUS!" It was Nikki, discovering the very ill animal. "What's wrong with him, David?"

"I don't know. I think it must be sick," David told Nikki as he inspected the platypus. "Our camp certainly is experiencing some bad luck today."

Nothing else happened for an hour. And then...

"My paints! What's happened?" Dolph exclaimed. "They're all... ugly."

"You think your paints are bad? My illusion animals are all missing!" Harrison snapped.

"Well, my knives are broken!" Nurf yelled.

"My Dungeonth and Dragonth game ith mithing!" Nerris added. The camp was starting to go crazy, and Max knew it would any second now.

And it did.

"MY COMPUTER! IT'S... MISSING!" Neil sobbed. "MY CODING... MY PROGRAMMING... ALL FOR NAUGHT!"

The camp descended into madness.

David and Gwen desperately tried (and failed) to control the campers. The ones who weren't in tears were throwing things or having a tantrum. It was completely unorganized chaos, with nobody to direct it towards.

"Wait a second!" Neil shouted. "We've all experienced some kind of torture... except Max." All eighteen camper eyes and four counselor eyes turned to Max, and all were glaring.

"My torture must have been almost dying last night. In case you forgot." Max had this excuse ready for when somebody pointed that fact out. He wasn't ready for Neil's skilled deduction.

"Or maybe... you're trying to get revenge!" Max was caught in his own lie now, and there was no way out of it. Even worse, the chaos had a target now.

"DESTROY HIM!" Nikki yelled. The other campers ran at Max, some screaming in his face, and others attacking him physically. Eventually, the counselors intervened. 

"This is going to be a long summer," Gwen sighed.


	5. A Worthy Performance

After Max had a stern talking-to about how revenge was never okay, and how it was wrong to destroy other people's property, the battle of The Campers VS Max ended as they decided to form a truce.

A week and a half passed, and rehearsals for Preston's play reached their end. The night of the performance seemed like a waste to the campers, because the only people watching were Gwen, David, and the QM. Gwen and David had supervised rehearsals (much to Preston's distaste), and the QM just didn't care. But the show must go.

"Alright people, get your SHIT TOGETHER!" Preston screamed from backstage."We go on in five!" The curtain opened. "Nevermind, we're going on now!"

The show they were putting on was an original by Preston, called  _A Terrible Summer_. It was about a camp. Max played Mike, a mean-spirited camper. Nikki was Nina, an energetic camper. Neil played Nelson, a nerdy camper. Side characters included Ered as Ellie, Harrison as Harry, and Nurf as Nick. The star of the show was Preston as Peter, a boy at the camp who was completely innocent and the only nice character. The counselors, Grace and Derrick, were played by Nerris and Space Kid. Dolph was stage crew.

"Preston, this show is really shitty," Max had said after he read the script. "Everybody's gonna know that this is just you complaining about camp."

"Don't insult my art," Preston had replied. "I bet you couldn't write anything better." It was true. Max wasn't a good writer at all. He did reluctantly help Preston edit the script and make it slightly less conspicuous, but there was only so much he could do. The true feelings of the show were painfully obvious to campers and counselors alike. Even David, but he decided to just let it slide.

The show's plot is this: Peter is tortured by everybody at the camp.

That 's it. That was the whole show. 

The only actor who didn't do all their lines in a completely bored monotone was Preston. The other actors didn't try to act. Some even brought their scripts onstage with them (Ered, Nurf, and Max). Others forgot every single one of their lines (Nerris, Harrison, Nikki, and Neil). The only person who had memorized their lines (besides Preston) was Space Kid.

Some highlights of the show included:

  * Space Kid accidentally bumping into Nerris and breaking her glasses (she luckily had a backup pair in her tent).
  * Max throwing his script at Neil when he forgot a line.
  * Nikki falling off the stage not once, not thrice, but twice (she was fine).
  * Nurf punching Preston by mistake.
  * Max adding swears into his lines.



Once the show had finally ended (it would have been only an hour long, but it took longer because of missed cues and forgotten lines), the counselors clapped politely. The QM was nowhere to be seen.

"Preston, that was-"

"A disaster," Max said, interrupting David.

"...I'm going to have to agree with Max on this one. Very well written, but maybe you guys needed some more time to practice?" Gwen suggested.

"Maybe I just need better actors." Preston glared at the cast.

"Now, now, let's not blame this on your friends. Though you guys could have added more emotion to your delivery," David added.

"Let's just blame it on the fact that it was a fucking stupid play with a fucking stupid cast." Max said.


	6. Family Bonding Time™️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kind of left out the dadvid stuff but now here it is feat. angst kinda

"Alright campers, you know what day it is!" David exclaimed. "It's time for hiking camp!" Groans rose up from the tired campers. After Preston's play, there was an afterparty that ran really late (much to David's annoyance), and everybody was exhausted. 

"I know you're tired," David said. "But it's Gwen's day off, and I can lead a hike on my own."

"Can you?" Max asked. "Because there are ten of us and one of you."

"I can lead a hike, Max. It's just Flower Point, I've hiked it a million times!" David assured Max. Neil raised his hand. "Yes, Neil?"

"Is this a hard hike?"

"Kind of. It's nothing you guys can't handle, though!" David said.  _I_ can _lead a hike,_  David thought.  _How hard could it be?_

\-------

Leading a hike, apparently, is really hard. Flower Point was not as easy a hike as everybody was told, and the campers looked like they were going to pass out. Max ended up being the only one who could keep up with David.

"Max! Are you enjoying the hike?" David asked, not even slightly out of breath. He hiked so much that it didn't bother him anymore.

"Not really," Max replied grumpily. 

"Oh, come on! The view is going to be worth it, trust me."

"Uh-huh." Max wasn't really listening anymore. David sighed. He really wanted Max to be having a good summer, to be enjoying camp as much as he had. But it didn't seem that way. It didn't seem like it would _ever_ be that way.

"Max," David's voice was quieter, sadder now. "Do you... _really_ hate camp?" It was at least a minute before Max replied.

"I just... I always thought it was how my parents got rid of me. I never considered it as a fun experience." Max paused before continuing. "But now I have a parent who loves and cares about me, and I guess I have friends, no matter how much they try to fucking kill me. So no, I don't hate camp. I just hated being ignored and treated like a goddamn pet or something."

"I'm glad to hear that," David whispered. He'd become so used to Max's lashing out, that actually having a meaningful conversation with him seemed so strange.

"Hey, David?"

"Yes, Max?"

"Thanks for not being a shitty parent."

"Thanks for not being a shitty son."

And for the first time that whole summer, Max really smiled.


	7. Music Camp

The time had come for Max's music camp performance, and he was freaking out. 

Max hadn't slept at all the night before, and he had to drink an extra cup of coffee that morning to compensate. He still felt exhausted, but he was running out of coffee grounds and didn't want to waste them.

"Okay, Camp Campbell Campers!" David grabbed the campers' attention. "Today we'll be starting music camp, and our performance will be tonight!" Max's stomach flipped in his stomach. "If you'd like to perform and you haven't already signed up, please raise your hand."

Preston's hand shot up.

"I'd like to perform my one man show. It has five acts and-"

"Preston, what does that have to do with music?" Gwen asked.

"Nothing."

"Then we can't put it in," David apologized. Nobody else raised their hand. Max sighed. It looked like he really  _would_ be the only one performing that night.

\------

"Alright," David started. "We're going to begin by learning some of the basics of music-"

"Where's Max?" Neil asked, interrupting the lesson. David didn't seem to mind, though.

"Max is practicing for tonight's performance," He explained. "As I was saying, we're going-"

"What is Max doing at the show?" Preston interrupted. David tried not to be upset with the campers. 

"Max is playing guitar and singing," David told them. "Anyways, the basics-"

"Max can sing?" Dolph questioned suspiciously. David sighed, now irritated with the constant interruptions.

"Yes. Now, onto the lesson. The basics of music..."

\------

"FUCK!" Max exclaimed. He'd messed up "Camp Campbell is the Place for Me and You" 17 times now (not that anyone was counting). He was starting to second guess this whole performance thing. Would anybody even like the performance?

Well, David would. And maybe Gwen.

His friends would probably find _some_ amusement in it.

The other campers would probably be glad that David wasn't bothering them. Maybe they'd listen. Maybe they'd like it.

Feeling a surge of determination, Max began the song again.  _18th time's the charm_ , He thought to himself.

 ------

It was now 20 minutes before the performance, and Max wasn't nearly ready. He was ready with the song, of course, after 4 hours of practice, but what was he going to  _do_?

Was he going to sit on a chair, or the edge of the stage, or would he stand?

Was he going to have sheet music with him? Did he need a microphone (not that the camp could afford them, but they had old ones that still worked)?

Before he knew it, David poked his head backstage.

"You're on in two minutes!" He whispered. "Good luck!" He gave Max a thumbs-up before ducking back outside.

Max stepped onto the stage.

He took a deep breath.

The curtains opened.

\------

When Max finished, the entire camp was silent.  _I fucked up,_  Max thought.

Then Nikki and Neil started to clap, and the counselors, and soon everybody else. The curtains closed, and Max walked backstage, carefully setting down his guitar. 

"Max, that was so good!" Neil exclaimed, running with Nikki to greet the boy.

"YOU WERE AMAZING!" Nikki yelled. "I WAS LITERALLY SPEECHLESS!"

Max frowned. "I wasn't _that_ good."

"Yeah, you were!" David assured him, entering behind Nikki and Neil. Max smiled. Maybe he did well. Maybe he didn't.

But he had friends and a family who loved him, and who could ask for anything more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for reading and for all your nice comments and kudos! it means a lot! I hope you liked this!


End file.
